LaHood: U.S. is Making Significant Progress on NextGen

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood credited government and aviation industry leaders for making significant progress on the implementation of NextGen.

Despite the recent grounding of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner planes, LaHood reaffirmed his belief that the United States has the “safest aviation system in the world.”

During a speech in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, LaHood also credited the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee (FAAC) — a group of experts from air carriers, manufacturers, airports, labor and consumers formed in 2010 — for helping to make the implementation of NextGen a national priority.

“Today our new air traffic management system is used by air traffic controllers in more than 50 percent of the country,” said LaHood.

LaHood also noted the performance improvements airlines using satellite-based approaches and departures in Atlanta and Washington have experienced, leading to significant savings on fuel burn and a reduction in delays for scheduled departure and arrival times.

By the end of 2013, DOT plans to implement more than 90 percent of the ground radio stations in place that will receive satellite information across the NAS. More